You pull up to your house, hit the button on your garage door opener and — nothing happens.
Dozens of residents of a Northern Virginia neighborhood say their garage door openers all mysteriously stopped working, and they think it has something to do with the top-secret government facility nearby.
That facility reportedly said they indeed may be to blame.
Warrenton resident Christine Orr said the simultaneous malfunctions had her feeling like she was living out a sci-fi show.
"It's kind like 'Stranger Things,' when Joyce's magnets stop working," she said Thursday, referencing a moment when Winona Ryder's character sees that something is off.
About 60 other households also are having trouble with their garage door openers, resident Robert Pfannkuch said.
Many residents suspect that the issue is related to the nearby Warrenton Training Center. People who live near military bases around the country apparently have had trouble with garage door openers for years.
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News4 contacted the facility but no one replied. They told the publication Fauquier Now that they got new radios that may be scrambling the garage door openers' signals.
To get into their own garages, residents have had to buy a special part that lets them change the opener's frequency. It set them back about $50 each.
"It would be nice if they would reimburse us the $50, but I don't think it's likely," Maria Pfannkuch said.
Residents met with Warrenton police Thursday night but the meeting was closed to the public and the media was not allowed inside.
Pfannkuch said she hopes the case is closed.
"We haven't had any other weird things happen, so hopefully this is the weirdest and that'll be it," she said.
